Be enchanted by Italy – as seen through the lens of photojournalist Lester Ledesma’s Canon EOS M6 mirrorless camera.

I’ve been using Canon’s DSLR cameras for travel photography for over 14 years but recently had the pleasure of shooting with the EOS M6, Canon’s latest pocket-sized power shooter, during a trip to Italy. Backed by these razor-sharp EF-M lenses – the EF-M11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM and the EF-M15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM – I captured the historic charm of southern and central Italy with this lightweight shooting kit.

In the heart of Naples, Piazza del Plebiscito buzzes with activity for most of the day. Hoping to capture a quieter photo of this famous landmark, I visited the area early in the morning when its main building was catching the first rays of sunshine. The EOS M6 accurately metered the scene’s contrast lighting, but I opted to underexpose by 1/3 of a stop to give me a moodier scene.

Behold Mount Vesuvius, the famous Italian volcano that dominates the skyline around Naples. I wanted to add a human context to this landscape shot, so I looked for a man-made foreground to accompany the mountain. The distant docks, the seaside promenade and the human silhouette all worked together to give a stronger sense of place to this photo.

Travel photography encompasses many aspects of photography, including landscape, portraits and food. These delectable pastries beckoned from the window of a bakery and invited an in-your-face angle that showed the tempting variety on display. With the EF-M11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens attached to the EOS M6, I got close enough to capture this mouthwateringly sharp image.

Dusk caught up with me in the medieval town of Orvieto, where I was strolling with the EOS M6 slung behind my back. I didn’t have a tripod at the time, so I had to use my widest available aperture and an ISO setting of 640 to get a shutter speed for sharper images. I then relied on the EF-M15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens’ Image Stabilization function to give me this sharp handheld image.

Travel photography is also about observing your surroundings. I was fascinated by this street artist who created replicas of classic paintings using coloured chalks. I figured an overhead shot that showed his open-air workshop along with the audience’s feet would illustrate the casual nature of his work. I simply zoomed out the EF-M11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens to its widest focal length, and flipped the EOS M6’s moveable LCD screen so I could shoot with my arm above me.

Faced with another over-photographed subject, I initially struggled to find a new angle through which I could shoot Florence’s world-famous renaissance church. An idea came when I was tying my shoelaces in front of its ornate façade. I shot from below and added lots of silhouettes – the EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM lens’ ultrawide perspective did the rest in this dramatic worm’s eye view.

The EOS M6 body may be light at approximately 350g, but it certainly boasts some heavyweight features. The first thing that impressed me was its AF speed, which I felt was better than other mirrorless cameras I’ve used. The control layout was also very well-designed, making me feel at ease after an hour of travel photography. It reacted pretty quickly with start-up and shutter lag times that kept up with my shooting demands. My best compliments, however, go to the quality of the images produced by its APS-C sized, 24-megapixel sensor. It produced DSLR-worthy shots with good colour and minimal noise, even at high ISO settings.

Lester V. Ledesma

An Asian Travel and Tourism Awards silver medalist and a two-time recipient of the Pacific-Asia Tourism Association Gold Award for Travel Photography, this photojournalist has been traveling the world for almost two decades. Based in Singapore, he creates culture and lifestyle articles for dozens of regional magazines. Lester likes street food, cold beer, and a good story.